We might have to take up smoking, ignore the neighbor and drink beer for breakfast. Welcome to a world without coffee: Absurd and unthinkable, but not impossible.
Slower and dumber
It's no coincidence that the Age of Enlightenment (1650-1800) coincides with the spread of coffee as a pleasure drink. In London, for example, there were more than 3,000 coffee houses in the early 1700s, just 50 years after the city's first was opened. Alcohol at breakfast and lunch was replaced with the far more invigorating substance caffeine, which made it easier to keep a clear head when discussing important issues. It's natural to assume that the world would be a dumber place without coffee.
"Alcohol at breakfast and lunch was replaced with the far more invigorating active ingredient caffeine"
A thousand flavors poorer
Due to its highly complex chemical composition, new aroma compounds are still being discovered in coffee, which is said to have a richer flavor spectrum than wine. One thing is certain: Without coffee, the world would literally be more than a thousand flavors poorer.
Poorer health and job satisfaction
Coffee is an effective way to get a few extra breaks. Although many managers have tried to ban coffee breaks, several studies have been published that claim they are good for both health and job satisfaction. Besides: Without coffee, what excuse would we use for a well-deserved extra break at work? It's likely that more people would turn to another classic break companion: the cigarette.
Photo: Mikal Strøm for Brygg Magazine
Fewer friends and neighbors
While we are among the world's most coffee-thirsty people, Norwegians are known to be more withdrawn and shy than average. In this respect, coffee has been the link between neighbors and friends for many generations already. What would we invite our neighbors to without a mocha master on the kitchen counter? And which premises would be blocked with prams if we didn't have cafés and coffee shops? It's highly likely that the world, and Norway in particular, would be a less social place without a cup of coffee to offer or meet over.
Not impossible
While the above examples are caricatures, there's little doubt that the world would look very different without coffee on the menu. According to this report published in the journal PLOS One, the world's coffee crops are facing a precarious future. Already, high temperatures, long droughts and intense rainfall are causing coffee farmers in several countries to struggle with poor yields. Climate change also means that plant diseases such as leaf rust survive in the subtropical mountain climate where Arabica coffee thrives. Although extinction is not imminent, the situation could have major consequences for an industry that feeds more than 25 million people across several countries and continents.